Poll

Arts and Entertainment

“101 Dalmatians” is a powerful story about family, animal cruelty and the triumph of kindness. It grabbed audiences in its first incarnation, the 1961 animated version, and it continued to warm hearts in the 1996 live-action version of the film. What could be more heartwarming than this classic story performed by the elementary school cast from StageDoor Theatre? On Thursday, May 10, the young actors from the Conifer-based theater open their production of “101 Dalmatians Kids,” a rollicking musical version of the canine tale.

A cast of gangsters is in Evergreen. You won’t see the streets filled with Tommy guns and ice picks, though. On the contrary, you will see Center/Stage Theatre filled with singing and dancing gangsters caught up in a nonviolent gang war fought with “splurge blasters” that spew forth Silly String. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Evergreen Children’s Chorale will deliver a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the 1920s gangster flick with its upcoming production of “Bugsy Malone, Jr.”

“Guys and Dolls” is a classic Broadway hit that has been reprised hundreds of times. The Colorado Children’s Theatre’s reprisal is no less sentimental than a Broadway revival of the show. “Guys and Dolls” was the first show performed by the Colorado Children’s Theatre when it opened its doors in Evergreen seven years ago.

The Evergreen Chorale is gearing up for a big finish to its 2011-12 season. Over the next three weeks, the Chorale will perform some of the most beloved choral music of the last four centuries in two separate concert events, “Stars I Shall Find” and Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony.

In spite of budget cuts and increasing class sizes, there are still many things to celebrate in our mountain area schools. As a community, we celebrate athletic success, and we celebrate musical accomplishments. For more than 15 years, a group of Jefferson County educators and parents has organized an event to celebrate academic success, particularly success in writing and literacy. Each year more than 350 students from all mountain schools gather to celebrate the skills of writing and storytelling at the Mountain Area Young Writers’ Conference.

The Prelude to the Evergreen Children’s Chorale is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. In honor of this momentous birthday, the Prelude is excited to bring audiences a jungle jumpin’ with jazz in the Disney classic “Jungle Book.” The Prelude is made up of 33 mountain-area second-, third- and fourth-graders representing 13 different schools — public, private and home-schooled.

“Curtains,” the newest production at StageDoor Theatre, is a comedy whodunit that pays homage to the brassy musical comedies of the 1950s. “Curtains” was created by the powerhouse musical-theater team of Fred Ebb and John Kander, who were responsible for such great musicals as “Chicago” and “Cabaret.”

Springtime in the Rockies can mean a lot of different things — a last-minute snowstorm before winter gives up for another year, tulips pushing up through the slowly thawing ground, or birds mating at the sign of warmer weather. Visitors to the Alliance Artists of Evergreen show “Springtime in the Rockies,” at the Center for the Arts Rotary Gallery at Center/Stage, will be privy to delightful images that are sure to take the chill off the final days of winter.

A traditional farce is a light, humorous play in which the plot depends on a skillfully exploited situation rather than the development of character. The Evergreen Players are pleased to use their upcoming production of “Black Comedy” to give audiences a laugh while hopefully bringing some much needed light to one family in darkness.

Strains of “Arabian Nights” can be heard wafting through the foothills from StageDoor Theatre. Enter the theater, and your family will be transported to the royal palace in the kingdom of Agrabah. StageDoor’s upcoming production of "Aladdin Jr." will transport you to a land with glowing genies, real flying carpets and familiar songs that will take you to “A Whole New World.”